/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.7024296]

How do I deal with soul crushing implications of wageslavery?

Any /lit/erature on the subject?

Take note that I live in a poor Eastern European shithole and that wageslavery is much worse here than in any Western European country.

[Anonymous No.7024302]

>>7024296
Suttree by Cormac McCarthy

Siddharta by Herman Hesse

[Anonymous No.7024307]

>>7024302
Don't just drop the title, tell me a bit about the work. Of course, I could read the wiki summary, but I am in the mood of talking with my fellow anons.

[Anonymous No.7024321]

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck has a wonderful, if unintentional, commentary on the burden of wage slavery brought about by adoption of welfare or "nanny state" principles

[Anonymous No.7024328]

>>7024321
Does it have, what I would call, an element of transcendence? The person overcoming his surroundings. I hate wallowing in my own suffering, although I am greatly predisposed towards such behaviour, so I really need something to inspire me. I hate myself for fucking up my education and being forced into what I am now, but I don't want to rest on this.

[Anonymous No.7024335]

Read Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. It deals a lot with how to lead a good life and how not to be impeded by hardship. The Gregory Hays translations is pretty decent.
>Anywhere you can lead your life, you can lead a good one

>"At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: 'I have to go to work — as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I'm going to do what I was born for — the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?'

>— But it's nicer in here ...

>So you were born to feel 'nice'? Instead of doing things and experiencing them? Don't you see the plants, the birds, the ants and spiders and bees going about their individual tasks, putting the world in order, as best they can? And you're not willing to do your job as a human being? Why aren't you running to do what your nature demands?

>— But we have to sleep sometime ...

>Agreed. But nature set a limit on that — as it did on eating and drinking. And you're over the limit. You've had more than enough of that. But not of working. There you're still below your quota.

>You don't love yourself enough. Or you'd love your nature too, and what it demands of you. People who love what they do wear themselves down doing it, they even forget to wash or eat. Do you have less respect for your own nature than the engraver does for engraving, the dancer for the dance, the miser for money or the social climber for status? When they're really possessed by what they do, they'd rather stop eating and sleeping than give up practicing their arts.

>Is helping others less valuable to you? Not worth your effort?"

[Anonymous No.7024339]

>>7024296

When all seems dark try reading a little Marx. It puts things in perspective.

[Anonymous No.7024345]

>>7024328
It does have elements of hope for a more productive idyllic future, but those are largely crushed by the ending unless its interpreted in the way described in my earlier post - which is certainly not how it was INTENDED to be interpreted but, eh, death of the author and all that.

[Anonymous No.7024364]

>>7024296

[Anonymous No.7024366]

>>7024335
>if you don't enjoy your life its because you don't love yourself
GEE THANKS FAM
THE GREATEST OF THE CLASSICAL SCHOLARS DEDICATED THEMSELVES TO FIGURING THIS OUT
WHERE WOULD WE BE WITHOUT THEM

[Anonymous No.7024392]

>>7024339
Left has hardly appeal to me in general. I might read him, I have for quite some time wished to, but I decided to buy Illiad and Moby Dick instead of Marx's writing. Reading on a PC screen hurts my eyes, a proper e-reader costs quite a bit.

Have you read Jack London? Martin Eden in particular.
>>7024345
I don't even want that idyllic future. I just seek something more that is more than spending 8 hours doing something that effectively dulls me and spending half of my wage either on speed or alcohol. It's all of my fault and I hate myself for not having not developed some artistic tendency when I was younger ( keep in mind I am still young ) and not having it as means of venting. It frustrates me to think that I am entirely mediocre and thus unable to create something great.
>>7024335
>Anywhere you can lead your life, you can lead a good one
What did he see as a good life? Good life for me is one full with struggle. But towards what ends those struggles goes is the main issue with me.

[Anonymous No.7024394]

http://www.thebookoflife.org/the-great-philosophers-karl-marx/
this is an interesting read, might bright up your day.

[Anonymous No.7024415]

>>7024392
>Working office hours means I must obviously spend all of my copious money and modest free time on drugs and alcohol
>it is impossible to mix average productivity and enriching experiences
: ^ D

[Anonymous No.7024456]

>>7024415
The only real reason why I do this is because my only friends, or I'd rather call them acquitances, know this as the only way to relax. It's not even clubbing or anything of that sort. Imagine few guys driving around from one place to another, ocassionally doing a line and drinking a bottle or two of cheap vodka or beer, generally wasting their time away doing nothing in particular. It gets terrible when the cigarettes run out and we realise that we all have spent more than we should have and have nothing left.

I think I might prefer to quit my ties with them, but they are the only people that I have any contact with. Feels lonely at times, yes.

My friend is actually a colleague at my work. We sometimes get drunk there.

[Anonymous No.7024984]

>>7024456
>We sometimes get drunk there.
What kind of work is this which allows you to get drunk?

[Anonymous No.7025021]

>>7024984
It's a cannery; we make canned sprats and all sorts of fish. I get rid of the defective cans by cleaning them whilst my colleague works in a warehouse next door. We're practically all alone most of the day, so we take regular breaks and if we have drink, drink. We managed to drink half a litre of vodka incredibly fast once when we were finishing up and I almost got caught by my superiors.

We we're practicing rock throwing once by throwing small pebbles at little glass jars from a distance of few metres.

In fact, I constantly lied about the number of the cans I cleaned out since they had no real track of how much they actually had since my superiors are pretty oblivious to that. So about 30-40% of my pay was made up figures of cans that never existed in the first place.

I have no regrets. Pay was shite though.

[Anonymous No.7025027]

Which country?

[Anonymous No.7025031]

>>7025027
Latvia.

[Anonymous No.7025041]

>>7024392

>have you read Jack London? Martin Eden in particular

No but apparently it's good. Have you started it?

[Anonymous No.7025057]

>>7025041
I read it twice a while ago. Good read if you are young and have interest in literature or philosophy; the main character is literally a retarded pleb that gets impressed by seeing that girls can be more than cheap factory workers who age like shit and embarks upon a quest of education. It's very life affirming and is easily relateable. Bildsdungroman was the term for these, if I remember correctly.

[Anonymous No.7025075]

>>7025057

I'll give it a read, thanks for the recommendation.

Another Steinbecky author you may like is Willy Vlautin. Nothing ground-breaking but it portrays contemporary working class life respectively, emphasis on the hardships.

The Things They Carried has similar themes in places although it's set mainly in Vietnam during the war. Still, it's short and superb.

[Anonymous No.7025088]

>>7024335
a fucking emperor telling people that wageslavery is great lacks some credibilty imo and he doesn't even have convincing arguments

>plants work, so you have to, too

smh in disgust

[Anonymous No.7025092]

>>7025075
TTTC is superb but I really don't think a Latvian canner is going to relate that strongly to American jarheads tromping around in the Vietnamese jungles, or their contemporary problems at home.

How in the fuck has nobody recommended Fight Club? Or even American Psycho for that matter.

[Anonymous No.7025093]

Also, I just realised no one has mentioned Dickens. Probably because it's a given, 'suppose.

[Anonymous No.7025095]

>>7024984
eastern european work

[Anonymous No.7025103]

>>7025088
word

i like the book but every once in a while he says something that makes me want to be a pleb in the roman empire just so i could assassinate him

[Anonymous No.7025111]

>>7025092

>TTTC is superb but I really don't think a Latvian canner is going to relate that strongly to American jarheads tromping around in the Vietnamese jungles, or their contemporary problems at home.

Fair enough. I just remembered the chapter when the narrator recalls his shitty job and his eventual decision to go to Vietnam.

OP may find something in it. He should read it either way.

[Anonymous No.7025123]

>>7025075
Will read, he seems interesting enough.

>>7025092
Who knows, war might come here and it might become very much so relatable.

Remind me what was Fight Club all about.
>>7025093
I tried reading some Dickens in translation, I had four volumes from a larger set of collected works, and I couldn't stand reading his writing for some writing. What is his best work?
>>7025095
It's adventorous at time, that's a bonus amongst the boring routine that work itself entails. Big plus is that I finally got to observe gulls close up since they fly around here quite often. Never did I notice that they actually look pretty 'noble' in a way.
>>7025111
By the way, do you watch films as well? Have you tried watching commie era ones? I strongly dislike Soviet Era for all it's faults, but the cinema was great. Could recommend you a very good piece of Russian cinema then.

[Anonymous No.7025133]

>>7025123
I'm interested in Russian cinema. I've been learning Russian for a while and I'd like to practice my listening comp. What are your recommendations?

[Anonymous No.7025140]

>>7025133
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Irony_of_Fate

Seen this?

[Anonymous No.7025145]

>>7025021
Are you the coworker who cooked the guy in the tuna cannery?

[Anonymous No.7025146]

>>7025123

>I tried reading some Dickens in translation, I had four volumes from a larger set of collected works, and I couldn't stand reading his writing for some writing. What is his best work?

That's understandable, they aren't the easiest reads. Oliver Twist is the most relevant (showing the dank, dark underbelly of British capital) although Great Expectations is my favourite.

Also, I hope war doesn't visit you Eurobro.

[Anonymous No.7025158]

>>7025140
No, I haven't, thank you! I've literally only ever seen Come and See and Moscow Does not Believe in Tears. I will definitely watch that

[Anonymous No.7025160]

>>7025145
Wait, what? We don't work with tuna. And I don't get to do the cooking, or rather smoking, or have anything to do with that process of production.
>>7025146
I tried reading Oliver Twist. It feels like he misses out on something, it's hard to tell what exactly.

To be fair, war is one of my escapist fantasies. To be a leader of a partisan band until they'd discover I have autism by arguing something /k/ related ( granted, I'd know all about guns in my fantasy ).

[Anonymous No.7025166]

>>7025160
>war is one of my escapist fantasies

me too man, me too

I'm going join the army and make it real though. Thank God US is always fighting someone

[Anonymous No.7025175]

>>7025088
>a fucking emperor

Which makes it even more admirable considering he was surrounded by all the trappings of a luxurious life yet on almost all accounts managed to abstain from them and live very modestly, even frugally for someone in his position.

Seriously, read his backstory and life before looking at, and judging the superficial, job title of 'emperor' which in itself would have been difficult.

[Anonymous No.7025189]

>>7024456
I work as a chef and this is my life too, I work 10am to 10pm, have no weekend days off, get shitfaced every evening with colleagues I hate. I feel your pain. Also means I'm hungover a lot.

[Anonymous No.7025193]

>>7025160

Ah, that post just triggered a thought: Orwell.

It's non-fiction but in his Road To Wigan Pier he documents the terrible working (and unemployment) conditions in north England. He worked in the mines for a time. Down And Out In Paris is about his time being homeless, widely considered a great piece of writing.

Re: your fantasy. Orwell writes about his experiences leading volunteers during the Spanish Civil War.
Politics is kept to about as minimum as Orwell is capable, so the focus is kept on his comrades, the emotions and the practicalities and tactics of trench fighting. He's a very accessible writer and all-round good egg.

I've come to think every generation of young men (and women) needs their Spanish Civil War. A time when the enemy reveals himself fully, providing the dispossessed a chance to fight back. Hopelessly romantic, a bit dumb maybe, but an exciting thought none-the-less.

[Anonymous No.7025200]

>>7025175
Actually, if you know anything about his politics, Marcus was really horrible to the plebby poor people, and a complete elitist. Stoicism is a pile of balls.

[Anonymous No.7025203]

>>7024296
>How do I deal with soul crushing implications of wageslavery?

By not reading books about it and instead trying to break from your chains. In fact the time it takes to read a single chapter you could read the guidelines and requirements for emigrating to Canada.

That's my advice as a fellow Eastern European.

[Anonymous No.7025207]

>>7025193

I forgot to mention the name of his Civil War book, it's Homage To Catalonia.

[Anonymous No.7025209]

>>7025203
What would breaking chains even mean? Cushy office jobs are mindnumbing and crushing, manual labour is backbreaking and crushing. There is no way out.

[Anonymous No.7025213]

>>7025209
Self employment in the first world.

[Anonymous No.7025219]

>>7025213
I always see people say this as if it is easy to just create a business out of the air.

[Anonymous No.7025223]

>>7025158
I couldn't stand Come and See; the caricatures that they made out of Nazis were too unbelievable for me. Like that manlet guy who was running with them. And that scene under the bridge where they burned them. Felt overly forced. There are better Russian war movies; in fact, war films is their better film output.
>>7025166
I was seriously considering French foreign legion, but my smoking habit would probably make me a shit runner and they are all about running. The chance to learn French really well and citizenship, along with the money you could save up, is really tempting though.
And I really like war songs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjpgGWIkx-g
>>7025189
Ever realize that you have very little in comon?

[Anonymous No.7025232]

>>7025219
Nothing in life that comes easy is good.
If you don't have the balls to do it, don't, wageslaving away your life is a valid life choice as well.

[Anonymous No.7025236]

>>7025193
My own Homeage to Lugansk?
>>7025203
From where are you originally? I have no real skills, plus my education is terribly fucked up.
What do you for a living?

[Anonymous No.7025248]

>>7024394
>disastrously planned economies
>People should not be allowed to own things.
>It’s going to war with human behaviour.
ok

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lhgb7PbMCU

[Anonymous No.7025251]

>>7025209
>What would breaking chains even mean?

Like this guy did.

[Anonymous No.7025252]

>>7025236
Bulgaria.
I've worked in web design on and off - it's easy but mind numbing.
Have a fine arts degree.
Nearing my 30s so I've been thinking more and more about making a video game and working as a freelancer in that industry in general.

I'll try until I succeed, the 9-18 slave life is not for me I know it for certain at this point.

[Anonymous No.7025253]

>>7025223
Not going to pretend to know anything about Latvian armed forces, but does Latvia not provide troops to NATO for joint operations? Could join that?

you could always go on vacation to Ukraine/spoiler]

I'm the movie guy too, do you have any specific better war movie recs?

[Anonymous No.7025259]

>>7025253
oops fucked that post up mb fam

[Anonymous No.7025264]

>>7025252
For how long have you been living in Canada? How hard was it to fit in?

>>7025253
It means that I have to sign up for our more professional army which is really small, yes, then I could do that. They go all around the world and are pretty professional.

To be fair, there was some war series, but I can't recall the title. If you aren't familiar with /int/, try familiarising yourself with it, find some Russian anons and ask them.

[Anonymous No.7025276]

>>7025232
Tough talk at it's finest! You also like to read Return Of Kings, don't you?

[Anonymous No.7025277]

>>7025264
Ah thanks, I'll give that a try.

I wish I had some more books to rec on the topic, but I don't. Good luck m8

[Anonymous No.7025288]

>>7025264
I've not moved there yet but my fathers cousin moved up there couple years ago with his kids and wife and everything and he was a bit older than me.

Spent an year going to courses there, got a job and now is wage slaving away to pay off his house and cars, you know the American dream, etc. It is what he wished for though so I can't blame him.

I'm personally more inclined to move to USA I think but that's much harder process, Canada is the easy modo.

[Anonymous No.7025294]

>>7025236

>My own Homeage to Lugansk?

Exactly! Good luck, comrade.

[Anonymous No.7025297]

>>7025288
>USA
I'd also prefer it, since it is much more diverse. I had this dream of Southern mangroove swamps; I haven't been able to shake off the feeling that I need to visit them ever since.
>>7025294
Both sides there are quite shit though.

[Anonymous No.7025307]

Tu mēģini man arī pielaist skumjas?

[Anonymous No.7025313]

>>7025297
So why are you saying you have no skills?
You're obviously working now if you're whining about wage slaving so you can do SOMETHING.

You still have your European education to fall back on to so in comparison to the typical Pakistani or Somali emigrant you're quite "superior".

[Anonymous No.7025314]

>>7025307
R Ī G A
Ī
G
A
?

Es nedomāju ka šeit ir vel kāds Latvietis, ats ( atkāti tev sakot )

[Anonymous No.7025319]

>>7025313
True, physical labor still pays much more in a Western country when compared to an Eastern European backwater.

[Anonymous No.7025353]

>>7025319
Why don't you try moving to your northern neighbors, their standard of living if fucking ridiculous.

And I hear getting a degree while you work there is not impossible.

[Anonymous No.7025390]

>>7025353
I'm considering all sorts of options and they are entirely within the realm of possibility.